My Best Investment

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has brightened the futures of hundreds of thousands of children across Africa and Asia – a heroic achievement that should make donor countries’ citizens proud. But governments should not be the Global Fund's only financial backers.

JAKARTA – When I was boy, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. I was born in Indonesia in the early 1950’s, a time when most families in my country lacked access to health care. As a result, thousands of children died each year from preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and malaria.

But revolutionary breakthroughs in medicine were starting to turn the tide on these killers, and Indonesia’s doctors were celebrated as heroes. I wanted to be a hero, too, so I studied hard and enrolled in medical school.

My plans changed, however, when my father got ill. He was a hard-working man who made pedicabs in Surabaya, and I left university when he could no longer manage the family business. Ultimately, I became a successful entrepreneur and established a bank that is now one of Southeast Asia’s largest financial institutions.

To continue reading, please log in or enter your email address.

To continue reading, please log in or register now. After entering your email, you'll have access to two free articles every month. For unlimited access to Project Syndicate, subscribe now.

New Comment

Pin comment to this paragraph

After posting your comment, you’ll have a ten-minute window to make any edits. Please note that we moderate comments to ensure the conversation remains topically relevant. We appreciate well-informed comments and welcome your criticism and insight. Please be civil and avoid name-calling and ad hominem remarks.

Log in/Register

Please log in or register to continue. Registration is free and requires only your email address.

Log in

Register

Emailrequired

PasswordrequiredRemember me?

Please enter your email address and click on the reset-password button. If your email exists in our system, we'll send you an email with a link to reset your password. Please note that the link will expire twenty-four hours after the email is sent. If you can't find this email, please check your spam folder.